Auburn Fans Celebrated Nick Saban’s Retirement With Tradition Usually Reserved for Tigers’ Victories
Wednesday’s bombshell report that Nick Saban would be retiring as the Alabama Crimson Tide football coach was a major shock to the college football world.
There were varying reactions to Saban’s retirement, but it’s safe to say fans of the Auburn Tigers were overjoyed to see the legendary coach leave their rival program.
After news of Saban’s retirement broke, groups of Auburn fans could be seen rolling Toomer’s Corner, a longstanding tradition at the school in which fans throw toilet paper over trees at the intersection between College St. and Magnolia St.
In the hours following the report of Saban’s retirement, more and more Tigers supporters could be seen making their way to Toomer’s Corner wielding rolls of toilet paper, celebrating the potential end of Alabama’s dominance in the SEC.
Nick Saban is retiring and we've got Rolling Toomer's in progress pic.twitter.com/VTVitybLoF
— Matt Cohen (@Matt_Cohen_) January 10, 2024
It didn’t take long for those trees to be mostly covered with toilet paper.
By 7:00 p.m. EST, several trees were already completely covered in toilet paper, and more fans could be seen making their way to the meeting spot.
Screenshot
The Iron Bowl figures to look plenty different following Saban’s retirement. Across his 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide, Saban posted an 11-5 record against Auburn, as Alabama held a vice grip on the rivalry with the Tigers.
Fans seem hopeful there are better days ahead in that regard, and they treated Saban’s departure as a significant victory for the Auburn football program.